BandWidth app gets cease and desist from Speedtest.net

Bad news for those of you who use the free app BandWidth for testing your internet speeds on your Windows Phone, the site SpeedTest.net has sent the developer a cease and desist letter.

Even though BandWidth doesn't advertise itself as a SpeedTest.net app nor uses their logo or name, it does use their servers for testing. Evidently the company decided to exercise their rights and they asked the developer Blake (aka 'microhaxo') to pull the app from the Marketplace. Blake has informed us that he'll do just that noting

"It was a great run, and I'm glad I was able to help so many people."

Indeed sir, it was a mighty fine app that we used regularly for our Windows Phone device reviews. The app was well designed, updated frequently, had no ads and was free -- what more could you ask from a developer? (We've of course grabbed a XAP from the Marketplace for safe-keeping).

We could almost forgive SpeedTest.net if they were ready to roll out a Windows Phone app but so far we don't hear anything official coming our way.

Pickup Bandwidth v4.2 here in the Marketplace while you still can (ironically, it was just updated today) and check our the rest of Blake's apps here.

Despite all of us not knowing much about Windows Phone 8 "Apollo" we're sure discussing a lot about it this week.

Netbook News ran a story today about a supposed summit meeting between Microsoft and its partners happening in Reading, UK with the delicious details of the agenda. While no specifics were given, we can of course garner some information from the list itself, presented below:

Apollo Review

Windows Phone Schedules and release plans/processes

Customization & Differentiation opportunities

New Windows Phone 8 application development capabilities

What’s new feature review of Apollo

Connectivity and APN management

Better together with Windows 8

Some sites have spun the part about "Customization & Differentiation opportunities" as Microsoft giving more leeway to carriers and OEMs. To that we say "perhaps" but that's certainly an assumption. For all we know, it could be the same Accent color changes and some un-installable carrier software as with Windows Phone 7. But it is very possible that Microsoft is now loosening the reigns a tad to garner more favorable cooperation with carriers and OEMs.

It's a known fact that carriers and device manufacturers adore Google's Android because they can do so much with it, giving them greater incentive to sell the device, whereas Windows Phone is basically always the same. If Microsoft is shifting this a bit with Windows Phone 8, it could give carriers and companies like HTC or Samsung greater motivation to adopt and support Windows Phone 8. The devil is in the details though and we're lacking those.

The rest is just a list of things we're dying to know about, much like you. Too bad we're probably weeks if not months from getting the whole story on the next generation of Windows Phone.

Behind the Tiles with Windows Phone events are coming to Best Buy

Just a quick reminder that Behind the Tiles with Windows Phone is heading to Best Buy. Well, twelve Best Buy locations to be more precise. The events will be held through mid-May in the following locations (and yes, Birmingham is left out again).

Charlotte, NC

Chicago, IL (Yorkshire Plaza)

Dallas, TX (Farmer's Branch location)

Houston, TX (Galleria Mall)

Costa Mesa, CA

Minneapolis, MN

New York, NY (Union Square)

Portland, OR

Seattle, WA (Lynnwood location)

San Diego, CA

San Francisco, CA

Waltham, MA

What is Behind the Tiles with Windows Phone you ask? It's an opportunity to spend some quality time with Windows Phone and learn more about the system. There will be free food and drink along with training sessions such as,

Hands-on deep dive with the Nokia Lumia 900

Windows Phone for IT and Developers

Metro UI and the Future with Windows Phone

Plus you'll have a chance to play with different Windows Phone devices. Rumor has it that there might even be a few Nokia Lumia 900s given away.

The events are invitation only with a limited number of open seats still available. You'll need to register here to be eligible for an invite and use mscust as the RSVP code.

It's nice to see Best Buy getting on board with Windows Phones. Let us know if you get an invite and how it goes. Good luck everyone!

Dell likes Windows 8 but is still opting out of the smartphone business

For those hoping for a sequel to the Dell Venue Pro Windows Phone, the stars don't seem to be in your favor. In a recent interview with Forbes, Michael Dell re-affirmed his companies position discontinue smartphone sales and development.

But what would it take to get Dell back into the smartphone business? When asked, Dell's response was,

"If the market changes so that a vendor like Dell can compete with smartphones more successfully we’ll likely reenter but, until then, our focus is going to be on managing, securing, and keeping these devices fed."

While conditions may develop to see Dell re-enter the smartphone market, there's no telling what OS they would choose. On the plus side, Dell thinks Windows 8 is exciting and we can expect to see a lot of activity when Windows 8 becomes available.

Seeing that Dell is enthusiastic about Windows 8, could we eventually see a Windows Phone 8 device from Dell? Or should Dell concentrate on computers and tables, leaving the Windows Phones to others?

Even with the connectivity glitch, sales seem brisk and Nokia is scrambling to keep up with demand. Nokia spokesperson Karen Lachtanski states,

"We are producing more devices to satisfy demand as quickly as possible.”

To help Nokia keep pace with inventory demands, Nokia is seeing more customers opt to update their Lumia 900's to address the connectivity issues than exchanging them.

“The inventory situation is primarily a function of demand because we are seeing that most customers are opting to keep their units and simply update via Zune."

We are already seeing inventory of the black Lumia 900 being replenished and based on comments and AT&T retail store reps, the cyan model should be back in stock any day.

So far, it would appear that Nokia's re-entry into the North American market has gone well. And expect the momentum to continue when the white Lumia 900 launches this weekend. Let us hope that they have plenty of the white models on hand.

Report: Windows Phone Tango aiming for a June release by Microsoft and carriers

Speaking of Windows Phone updates and rumors, our friends over at Mi Movil Windows have confirmed with two sources that Windows Phone Tango (finalized as OS build 8773) will be released officially at the beginning of June. (We've been told who the sources are but have been asked to not name them).

Even though ROMs of Tango have been floating around for awhile (and we've seen some for the Lumia 710 as of late) Microsoft reportedly pushed the April time-frame for release back to June so that more operators could finish testing and Microsoft could target a more universal roll-out, much like Mango. This becomes self-evident when you realize that no Tango updates have happened yet, even though the ROM has been finalized.

Of course if true, this won't mean we'll all get Tango the same day, let alone the same week. Instead what we could be seeing here is a rolling update where various regions and carriers will release over an extended time-frame. This sounds a lot like the Mango-update which took roughly two-months to reach nearly 90% of devices. The difference here is the fact that Tango is a far cry from those 500-new features we saw last year.

Windows Phone Tango is expected to be optimized for 256 MB devices for emerging markets, feature enhanced MMS capability and other under the hood optimizations.

It will be interesting to see if AT&T, who have gone on the record twice now, will be taking advantage of this extension to also roll out this Tango update for current devices. The timing seems about right.

Windows Phone dev making over $1000 per day with adverts on Taptitude

Last time we touched on Taptitude they had just hit 100'000 download, and were doing pretty well for themselves. And it's only gotten better from there.

Taptitude is a game made by four brothers, which is a collection of mini-games. As you play through the games you gain points, which you can use to unlock more games. In total there are now over 60 mini-games, and more are added each update.

Over on their blog, they have detailed what the last year has been like for their game, as well as how much revenue they have made through Microsoft PubCenter ads in the game. So how much have they actually made? As of yesterday, they have pulled in slightly over $100'000 through ads.

And from the graph below (ad impressions), it's pretty obvious that it is not slowing down - in fact, in the comments on the article, one of the developers mentions that over the last few days they have been pulling in around $1400 per day.

They also give lots of other stats about the ads, impressions, and download so we recommend you go check out the source below.

One final thing that we found interesting was the device usages. It might be obvious given how much Nokia is pushing their Lumia range, but it's good to see that other developers are also seeing the Lumias taking top spot.

Warnygo for Windows Phone released to the Marketplace

Warnygo, a social alert system-type app, has been released for Windows Phone. We previously looked at Warnygo back in 2010 where we explained the idea behind the app and what users can achieve with included functionality. So what is Warnygo all about? In a nutshell it's an alert app, which allows you to publish alerts for other users to receive, as well as read up on subscribed zones.

From road incidents to weather alerts, and spotted celebrities to someone who requires medical attention, Warnygo covers a wide variety of categories to choose from. Zones can be created when announcing "warnies" to limit who can see your posting depending on their location - you might not be interested in road incident alerts for another county.

As mentioned above, users are able to subscribe to certain zones (for example: New York) to filter through alerts for more relevant results. As well as using the app, "warnies" can also be viewed on theWarnygo website with an interactive map available. It's an interesting concept for a social network and it'll be interesting to see how this takes off.

You can download Warnygo for free from the Marketplace. A premium version is mentioned in the app description but doesn't appear to be available as-of-yet. Note that this is currently in public beta, so features present and the version itself does not reflect the gold product.

Windows Phone Xbox Live Review: Farm Frenzy 2

Despite the importance of farming in sustaining human life, we don’t see many videogames built around the subject. Consoles have the long-running Harvest Moon series, but outside of a puzzle game spin-off, those games haven’t made their way to mobile phones, nor has time-waster Farmville landed on Windows Phone. Thankfully Russian developer Alawar Entertainment brings us Farm Frenzy 2 as an Xbox Live title. It provides an extremely casual version of agriculture rather than an actual simulation, but the theme and unique gameplay are still worthy of notice.

And what does Microsoft have to say? Well, not much of course. From a Microsoft spokesperson we were told the same thing as every other site:

“We have stated publicly that all apps in our Marketplace today will run on the next version of Windows Phone. Beyond that, we have nothing to share about future releases.”

Their contention is that Silva, the Microsoft Evangelist on video claiming all phones will get the update, was possibly mistaken or confused when talking about updates versus app compatibility. (Microsoft recently confirmed app compatibility with Windows Phone 8).

As our own Rafael Rivera said on Twitter: "Come on, we seriously believed a developer evangelist from Portugal had close guarded core information on Windows Phone? ". Indeed.

A few months ago we personally heard from someone with direct contact at Microsoft that jives with what the Verge claimed: no phones will get the update. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley has also heard the same thing lending more credence to the claim. However, since none of us share our sources for all we know we're all citing the same person, which doesn't really confirm anything so long as they want to remain anonymous.

Get cheap kitties on your Windows Phone with Kinectimals, the Xbox Live Deal of the Week

You know what calms me down after a game charges me for one of its basic Achievements? Seeing a game get discounted that has never been on sale before. The new Xbox Live Deal of the Week certainly fits the bill. Kinectimals is now on sale for $1.99 for the first time, down from $2.99.

Kinectimals is the portable version of Frontier Software and Microsoft’s feline-themed Kinect game. Players can choose one of five kitties or import an existing cat from the 360 version using the phone’s camera. Then it’s time to teach your kitty tricks by performing swiping motions, play catch, complete challenges, and buy lots of accessories. There’s not much depth here, but the kitties are cute and the Achievements are super easy. Check out our review for more details.

Kinectimals is on sale for $1.99 for one week only. Get it here on the Marketplace.

From the Forums: Anyone keeping their Lumia 900 past 30 days?

The Lumia 900 has been out for a little over a week now and as people start to get over the "new phone wow factor" they start to notice the little things. Some of those little things become more of a big thing if that is the feature you need or use most. That leads us to today's hottest thread in which we are discussing the Lumia 900's camera.

Nokia made the Lumia 900 without a BSI (backside-illuminated) sensor and this sensor (which is included in most high end smartphones) increases the amount of photons captured in low light situations. Without this sensor, the Lumia 900 camera struggles for greatness. But in well-lit situations the camera is on par with other comparably priced phones. You can get more information about the Lumia 900 camera in our review here.

Okay so i left iOS and Android to comeback to WP and I do love WP. Can i ask an honest question, will any of you be returning the Lumia 900 before the 30 days is up? I ask this because since our phone has been released (rushed to market) its been plagued by some issues.

I thank them for getting a software fix out asap to address the data issue however no one from Nokia or Microsoft has even addressed the camera which is a big selling point. You just don't throw Carl Zeiss around and make statements at CES and Mobile World Congress about how powerful this camera would be for it not to be true. I am going to try and tough it out until the next Nokia release but this is starting to upset me that they are not even addressing how bad this is. And for those folks that say this is a cell phone not a camera i agree however if they advertise it one way it should perform that way. what are your thoughts folks?

You can imagine that this thread has received a lot of replies some good and some bad.

Monster Island now on the Windows Phone Marketplace along with a PDLC Xbox Live Achievement

It’s time to take a break from Sid Meier strategy games for a while and settle into some nice throwing things at other things. I am, of course, speaking of Monster Island, the latest Xbox Live release from Miniclip.

Monster Island is basically a monster-themed version ofFragger. Instead of a grenadier, you’re now a monster who must defeat invading monsters. Aim and throw five different kinds of monster grenades to destroy your stationary enemies. With a whopping 262 levels (and more promised in a future update), it offers plenty of bomb-throwing fun.

Monster Island features a robust in-game shop in which players can purchase new characters, level unlocks, level skips, and level solutions using in-game currency. Being a Miniclip title, it also allows users to purchase coins with Microsoft Points. That’s not so bad in and of itself, but the Big Spender Achievement actually requires players to purchase not one, but three coin packs!

The cheapest coin pack costs 80 MSP ($1), so users would need to spend a minimum of $5.99 ($2.99 for the base game plus $3 for three coin packs) in order to earn Monster Island’s full 200 GamerScore. Of course, larger packs actually offer more coins per dollar than smaller packs, so why couldn’t the Achievement just be for buying a single pack? More importantly, this is the first Windows Phone title to actually require players to spend additional money in order to get all of the base game’s Xbox Live Achievements. Even among Xbox 360 games that practice is extremely rare (if not prohibited outright), so it’s startling that Microsoft allowed it here.

Perhaps it’s natural for publishers to test the limits of what they can sell to users as PDLC, but many would agree Miniclip has gone too far on this one. It’s a shame too, as without the annoying PDLC component (and multiple in-game pop-ups encouraging players to spend their coins), Monster Island is probably the most robust Angry Birds-type game on Windows Phone. The massive quantity of levels and variety of playable characters and bombs, not to mention some clever level design, certainly makes it worth a look. Could 'Big Spender' have simply slipped through the certification process by mistake? We've contacted Microsoft and will report back if they reply.

Monster Island costs $2.99 and there is a free trial. Get it here on the Marketplace. Alternately, you can check out the Flash version at Miniclip.com.

Update: Currently the game is only available in the US. We'll let you know when this changes.

Apollo update coming to all Windows Phones? According to one Microsoft Evangelist, yes

While everyone is anxiously awaiting the Winodws Phone 8 aka Apollo update for Windows Phone, the twenty dollar question everyone is waiting for Microsoft to answer is "Will all Windows Phones be eligible?" A recent interview with a Microsoft Evangelist may shed some light on the subject.

The Portuguese mobile forum Zwame interviewed Evangelist Nuno Silva and in the above excerpt, Silva was asked if all current Windows Phone devices will receive the Apollo or Windows Phone 8 upgrade. His response, as translated by WMPU, was:

"What Microsoft said/stated and what I’m allowed to tell you is that all actual devices will get upgrade to the next major version of Windows Phone (we´re talking about Apollo)"

Silva would clarify "all actual devices" to mean:

"Are all that came out. Since the first generation that were bought. The LGs and SAMSUNGs.. OMNIA 7 which were the first devices with Windows Phone reaching the market."

So take it for what it's worth and while we have no reason to doubt Silva, it sure would be nice if the likes of Joe Belfiore would come out and confirm what Silva has offered. What do you guys and gals think? Will all Windows Phones from the Samsung Focus to the Nokia Lumia 900 get a taste of Apollo?

Update: We reached out Microsoft for a comment regarding this interview and while we weren't expecting a confirmation, we still wanted their statement. A Microsoft spokesperson did get back to us with this:

“We have stated publicly that all apps in our Marketplace today will run on the next version of Windows Phone. Beyond that, we have nothing to share about future releases.”